Posts Tagged ‘Good Friday Agreement’

Over a lifetime of involvement in the law, I’ve had to deal with the Garda Siochana on many levels. I have seen the progress as well as the demotion of individual Gardai and by and large I have been impressed with the level of integrity and humanity that most show when carrying out their duties. Of course, we come upon the odd bad apple, as in all walks of life, but unfortunately there is nothing as rotten as a bad Cop. The misuse of the Garda Siochana is what annoys me the most. When political influence interjects to corrupt the Force it spells disaster.

In the Ireland of the 1970’s there was no shortage of Gardai to man the ‘political police’ who spent many hours working against those who threatened the State. Politicians left no stone unturned to capture their ‘enemies’ and legislation was enacted to allow for the detention of ‘suspected terrorists’ when the need arose. People were targeted for the most menial of reasons and I personally believe that many became involved in the ‘troubles’ as a direct result of police action who would otherwise not have done so. My point is, that once the State felt threatened, it threw all it’s resources to protect itself regardless of the consequences to the civil rights of those who, for one reason or another became politically active against it. There was never any issue of not having enough ‘Special Branch’ on the ground and manpower was never an issue. The State in this instance was in fact not you and me but the interests of those in power. The old ‘civil war’ politics which have divided this country for many years were alive and well. The Free State was to be protected at all costs.

Times, they are a changing. Today politics have moved on. The Good Friday Agreement has unleashed those who ‘threatened the State’ into mainstream politics. This can be nothing but a good thing, although unfortunately it has left behind some of those who feel that the politicians are now pursuing another agenda. I suppose, following the Civil War in the 1920’s there were those who felt betrayed and disfranchised. That is where the politicians fail. Not to be inclusive is to distract from the reality. I truly hope that progress can be made to bring about an inclusive society where the rights and aspirations of the Citizen can be nourished, not quashed.

Today in Ireland, we have many problems. Most have been due to the ineptitude, self-interest and downright corruption of the political classes. As a State we have lost our sovereignty. Joan Burton, Labour Party, has stated that we have pooled our sovereignty with our friends in Europe. This loss, or pooling, is in the interests of those who want a United States of Europe, a matter that has never been openly put to the Irish Citizen. Nonetheless, we are now being dictated to by Foreign Powers regardless of our wishes.

The interference with the independence of the Garda Siochana and the cut-backs being imposed by our Government, clearly at the behest of others, including the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, have left the Citizen exposed to forces whose objective is the dismantling of society as we know it. Only last night on National Television we saw the open drug dealing on the streets of our capital city, Dublin. Some have asked why RTE cameras could expose the transactions taking place while the Gardai on film seemed to be acting under crude restrictions. From talking with members of the Force over the last while, I have received an education. Their resources have been cut to such an extent that it has become nigh impossible for them to carry out their duties. The Force has become depressed as a result and the Citizen is the one suffering the brunt of the actions of the politicians. This begs the question… ‘In whose interest are the Garda Siochana acting?’ Well, they are there to protect the State. They take their orders from the political classes, those same people who have sold out our sovereignty to others whose interests are not in line with those of the Irish Citizens.

Who is benefiting from the cutbacks? Well as shown, clearly not the Citizen or indeed the Garda Siochana themselves. Who then benefits? Well I suggest the Drug Lords, Corrupt Bankers, White Collar Crime etc. One could suggest they are one and the same people ! The Gardai, despite their misuse on picket lines are our protectors. We should listen to them when they tell us they are suffering. When the old and vulnerable in our society are being brutalised by thugs and gangsters who operate now freely in our society. Is it not time to call an immediate halt to the disastrous policies on policing currently being imposed by our current Government ? Or is it now fact that they really control nothing and that policy is being dictated solely by a Higher Force which is blind to the needs of the ordinary citizen. If the same mentality existed today as in the 1970’s as regards the protection of the interests of the State, things would be very different. Or would they? In those dark days as today, maybe the interests of the political classes are still being served. Maybe the Gardai have been used all along to protect the Elites among us, not the ordinary citizen. Today the Gardai rank and file are not happy being used and abused in this way. But, will anything change ?

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